A FORMER ICI worker has been picked by the Labour Party to contest the Weaver Vale constituency.

Julia Tickridge, a Northwich councillor, will face incumbent MP Graham Evans in the 2015 General Election for Weaver Vale, which includes parts of east Runcorn, Daresbury and Frodsham.

Cllr Tickridge, who studied German, French and Italian and marketing at university, and later added Russian, Dutch and Spanish to her list of linguistic skills, worked for ICI in Germany and London. She is married and has a 23-year-old son and in her spare time she trains with Helsby running club.

She is also a Fairtrade Champion for Cheshire West And Chester Council and an international wine challenge judge.

During her tenure as a councillor she has tabled a motion to outlaw loan sharks and sought to cap the interest rates charged by payday lenders.

She said: “I am delighted to have been selected as the Labour candidate to be Weaver Vale’s next MP and would like to thank the Labour Party members. I have seen how the Tories are letting down Weaver Vale. Pay packets have been cut by £1,700 since the election and families find themselves £891 worse off annually due to changes that the Tory-led Government have made.”

“I’d be working to bring jobs and growth to the area and get the economy moving again.

“I look forward to meeting people on the doorstep, at events and surgeries right across our many communities and listening to everyone’s views.